Item : CREAM - BBC SESSIONS 1966-1968 (2CD)

Condition :  NEW 

Numbered stickers may not be included.

Definitive collection of BBC recording sessions and live performances

UPGRADE!!!

[Complete version of Cream's BBC session sound sources!]

In recent years, Prof Stoned, who has continued to provide high-level compilations with the highest level of sound quality, mainly BBC material, has released a collection of Cream's BBC session sound sources. Speaking of Cream's BBC sessions, there is an official 1CD released on March 25, 2003, but it was known that the amount of material could not be contained on 1CD considering the number of BBC radio and TV programs they appeared on from 1966 to 1968. This is because the master sound sources no longer remain at BBC, and some were not recorded on analog and digital discs produced for radio broadcast as transcription discs. With the help of his collaborators, Prof Stoned investigated and searched all the sound sources, and as a result, he succeeded in compiling file data that can be said to be the complete version.

Detailed sources are listed in the track list, and the sources he used are revealed at the end. According to the report, the main high-quality sound source data was collected from the transcription disc produced by BBC and the 1999 Hiwatt label "Blues Condition," and then researched and consolidated tape sources that fans had recorded on the radio at the time, the session sound source recorded on the official release "Fresh Cream / Super Deluxe Edition" on January 27, 2017, and Cream's take from the very rare BBC omnibus DVD "All My Loving" released in the UK in 2007. The fan-recorded air check sound sources at the time are of poor sound quality because the recording equipment at the time was not very high performance, but they are historical sound sources that fans will be happy to hear even if they only listen to them. This is because this BBC session was a live performance of completely different takes, even though the songs played were the same (multiple times). In addition, they also obtained and recorded a version without the announcement of the take that was covered by the DJ's song introduction announcement during the broadcast, which is perfect. However, the BBC recording was basically mono, and the missing instruments were overdubbed in advance, so it is not a pure one-shot live performance, but if you look at it from a different perspective, it can be evaluated as a very valuable recording that reflects the times, as it shows a unique side of Cream, who intended to perform compactly for radio.

[A unique recording of Cream, who showed different sides in the studio and on the live stage]

The BBC session, like other bands, was aired in a compact form, with the performance time restricted to fit into the radio broadcast time. Especially for a band like Cream, who showed a different side of themselves by showing improvisations that lasted for 10 minutes per song, even though the studio version only lasted a few minutes, this BBC session was not faithful to the studio version, but was under time constraints while wanting to develop further, and as a result, it presents a unique studio and live band hybrid that is very worth listening to for fans.

Clapton's guitar playing and improvisation are particularly worth listening to. In one take of I'm So Glad, he plays a passage from Tchaikovsky's 1815 Overture in the middle of the solo, Crossroads has a different phrase structure from that great performance at Fillmore, and Steppin' Out has a noticeable change in structure depending on the time of the performance. You can enjoy comparing the same songs on this album, and you can also enjoy the differences between the original studio version and the pure live version later.

What's interesting is that all of the interviews inserted in between were conducted with Clapton. Jack Bruce was the main vocalist and the core of the songwriting, but it turns out that the BBC had been paying attention to Clapton as a frontman since the band was formed in 1966. This is proof that Clapton's name value was greater than that of the other two in the British music scene at that time (even the album by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, the band Clapton was in before Cream, was a hit in 1966). Listening to this interview in chronological order, you can clearly sense the hidden ambition and passion that Clapton has in what he talks about after he moved to the US and began recording in New York. You can also see the confidence that Cream has gained from enthusiastic support across the US. Cream really was a unique and incredible band.

This is a fantastic compilation that lets you experience Cream's transformation and evolution, which you could never have captured on the official BBC Sessions 1CD release. This is the definitive edition of Cream's BBC Sessions.

★The release will come with a numbered sticker.

Disc:1 (79:58)

Session #1

01. DJ Intro

02. Sweet Wine

03. 'Eric Clapton interview'

04. Wrapping Paper

05. DJ Intro

06. Steppin' Out

07. Sleepy Time Time

08. Rollin' And Tumblin' (incomplete)

09. I'm So Glad

10. Rollin' And Tumblin' (complete but poor sound)

Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London UK; Tuesday 8 November 1966 between 2PM & 4:30PM

Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Saturday Club': Saturday 12 November 1966

Producer: Bill Bebb

Sources: 01-06 transcription disc; 07-10 off-air recordings